Dev Patel "has been trying to keep his new girlfriend secret", according to sources.

Dev Patel appeared to confirm his romance with his Hotel Mumbai co-star Tilda Cobham-Hervey as the pair stepped out hand-in-hand in Los Angeles on Monday (27Feb17).

The Lion actor was first linked to Tilda when they attended Harvey Weinstein's pre-Oscars party together on Saturday night (25Feb17), alongside his mother Anita. And Dev, 26, did little to dispel rumours of a relationship on Monday as he gazed adoringly at the actress as they strolled along, with the actor's arm around 22-year-old Tilda's shoulders.

Anita also joined the pair on the shopping trip and Dev was seen with an arm around each of the most important women in his life as they were pictured enjoying the outing.

Tilda has also allegedly been seen at Dev's Hollywood home, with a source telling the Daily Mirror: "Dev has been trying to keep his new girlfriend secret, but he was spotted looking very loved up with her last week. She’s been staying with him at his new pad."

While a family friend of Dev's said in January (17) that the actor had been planning to focus on his career, after earning an Oscar nomination for his role in Lion, it seems he couldn't ignore his chemistry with Tilda when they shot upcoming movie Hotel Mumbai together.

"This new romance has come out of the blue, but Dev seems very happy," the source added.

Dev and Tilda share something in common as well, as both first made names for themselves in the acting world when they were teenagers. Tilda was just 16 when she starred in indie movie 52 Tuesdays, while Dev starred in British TV series Skins before landing his breakthrough role in 2008's Slumdog Millionaire.

It's not the first time Dev has struck up a romance with a co-star. He previously found love with his fellow Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto. The pair dated for six years before they split in 2014.